


To Become Your Light

by lunaryu (zeroshikidarkangel)



Series: What You Can See is Not Always What It Seems to be [1]
Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Drama, Everyone loves Tsuna a bit too much, Family, Friendship, M/M, Mafia/gangster things, Romance, Supernatural Elements, Tsuna is amazingly good like a saint, Tsuna's harem, a little bit everyone/Tsuna, blind!Tsuna, slow build romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-29
Updated: 2014-10-29
Packaged: 2018-02-23 02:27:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2530586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeroshikidarkangel/pseuds/lunaryu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After getting in an accident, saving Irie's life and losing his sight, Tsuna apparently is capable of seeing a lot of things, more than he did before the accident, about people and their deepest feelings. Thus, his friends find the warmest place beside him…</p>
            </blockquote>





	To Become Your Light

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer: Katekyou Hitman, Reborn! © Amano Akira**  
>  **Warning:** _foul language, shounen ai, mafia and gangster things, slight supernatural element (not ghost or something like that, but mentions of demon and supernatural stuffs), slight oOC (especially for characters that are hard to write), un-beta-ed ( **whoever wants to be my editor for this fic, please contact me ASAP-through PM or comment** ) etc…_
> 
> You see, this is a REMAKE of an old fic with the same title (though, I never posted it here). Only, this one is slightly different. The plot might have been similar, but… oh hell. I just decided to rewrite it because the predecessor doesn’t make any sense! *frustrated because author is confused how to continue that abomination of a fic despite still wanting to do it* So… I hope you enjoy this one as much, maybe more than the previous one (if you’ve ever read that one *lol*)…

**Chapter 1: _The Beginning and Irie Shouichi_**

* * *

_Darkness…_

…

_“…Trini-… is a…ken…”_

_What?_

_“…have to… -cept…”_

_Who’s speaking?_

_“…ngola… -ven keys…”_

_Keys? What keys?_

_“…We… to… guardians…”_

_Doesn’t make any sense… what keys? What guardians? What are they talking about? Wait, ‘they’? There are multiple voices…_

_“…Have to… there…”_

_“…want it…”_

_…_

Sawada Tsunayoshi, a.k.a. Tsuna, was aware that some people are talking… around him? _Beside him?_ He wasn’t exactly sure, since it was pitch black, and he couldn’t, for the life of him, understand what was going on.

_Moreover… what’s with the annoying beeps?_

Right, he forgot to mention that there was a steady beeping sound somewhere in the…room? Place? His eyes felt really heavy and his body felt numb. It was kind of _float-y_ actually and really, _really_ hard to concentrate.

Tsuna tried to move, but his muscles were really weak… no, _relaxed_? He didn’t want to move. It was kind of comfortable, so his eyes refused to open too. The only thing he knew was that he wasn’t alone in _that place_ , wherever that was.

“…huh? Sawada-san?”

_Eh? A different voice from the voices before…? It’s… a woman’s voice._

“Sawada-san, can you hear me?”

Something slipped around his fingers and then a soft pad of... palm. _A hand?_

“Sawada-san, I need you to squeeze my hand if you can hear me.”

_Squeeze? Squeeze the hand… alright, I can do that… Squeeze…_

It was a lot of effort to do just that. The numbness was in the way and his consciousness was still like floating. But squeezing a hand didn’t sound too difficult. He just had to move his fingers a bit... _There._

“Good, you’re doing well, Sawada-san. I will call the doctor immediately. It’s nice to finally have you come around.”

_She sounds… happy. Why? Wait, doctor? Come around? Where was I before anyway?_

But then Tsuna couldn’t really ponder on that thought, because he suddenly felt really sleepy. He was… tired, for some reason. Taking a nap wouldn’t be too bad, right? There was no school on Sunday…

_Sunday… what happened in Sunday…?_

There were flashes of colors and images, a green car, a brunet boy with glasses, his senior’s face; but they didn’t make any sense to Tsuna because he didn’t have any context for them. After that, Tsuna just couldn’t fight the lethargic feeling anymore and let the sleep engulf him, bringing him once again to blissful darkness and oblivion.

* * *

**~All x 27~**

* * *

The second time he came around, Tsuna was more awake. He still felt groggy and mostly without sensation, but at least the float-y feeling wasn’t there anymore. He still couldn’t open his eyes, by the way… because there was apparently a bandage covering them. And _the place_ seemed to be a hospital since he could smell the familiar scent of antiseptic and sterile environment.

Tsuna didn’t like hospital. It associated with injuries and deaths. He still couldn’t remember how he ended up in one in the first place and his mother, Nana, sounded really enthusiastic when he woke up.

“Tsu-kun! Oh, thank GOD! Thank God you’re finally awake!”

He kind of suspected that his mother was crying as she squealed, while he felt movement from bellow him, his bed straightening so he could sit up without having to move by himself. It was difficult for him to speak back because his throat was really sore and dry, and Tsuna was very grateful for a cup of water offered by the… nurse? _Doctor?_ He couldn’t see so he wasn’t sure. He would just refer her as the nurse then since his mother were still busy sniffling on his other side.

“Slowly, Sawada-san, slowly. We don’t want you to choke,” the nurse said soothingly and politely, guiding the straw to his mouth. Tsuna followed the instruction, sucking the water slowly from the straw.

“What… happened?” After feeling slightly better with the refreshment, Tsuna began to ask. His voice still sounded croaky despite the water. He gave up trying to move his heavy limbs and just relaxed. His memory was really fuzzy and the darkness was annoying. Why was his eyes bandaged again?

“Oh, Tsu-kun… you don’t remember?” Nana sounded sad.

“What is the last thing you remember, Sawada-san?” the nurse asked.

“The last thing…”

Tsuna tried to remember. Then he recalled the flashes before he passed out after waking up the first time. He tried to put context to them and slowly… gradually… he remembered.

It had been a Sunday afternoon. Tsuna had been bored and tired of doing his math homework because no matter what he did, he still couldn’t understand the problems on the work-sheet. He had decided to take a walk to clear his head. Alright, he went to his senior’s, Mochida-senpai, house to ask for help doing his homework. Mochida was… well, _honestly_? A bully, that had picked on Tsuna since he was fresh men in junior high (now Tsuna was 14, in second year), but he was smart and he actually helped Tsuna with his academic progress as long as Tsuna agreed to be his lackey until Mochida graduated.

It was kind of pathetic, really. Tsuna himself admitted that he wasn’t a bright kid and he wasn’t good at any sport either. He was short, thin, small, awkward, and he didn’t try to actively think about it, but compared to his peers at school… he wasn’t exactly the handsomest guy. His brown hair was also always messy and spiky no matter how many times he tried to tame it. The only redeeming quality of his traits was… _maybe_ , he could always be a good laugh for his classmates to pass the day.

Tsuna’s friends… uh, he wasn’t really sure if they thought Tsuna as their friend even though Tsuna did think them as his friends, because everyone called him _no good Tsuna_ , The Clown in his class. They didn’t exactly bully him like Mochida did, but… they didn’t try to help either. Tsuna could understand, though. Mochida was a little bit possessive to his lackeys. Tsuna wasn’t the only one, but he was Mochida’s favorite to tease around. They might not want to be involved with Tsuna and receive the same treatment from Mochida afterwards.

Understandable, Tsuna could live with that. It wasn’t that bad if he overlooked the bruises from getting shoved around and sometimes, the emotional manipulation and the extortion. Tsuna thought it was a fair trade, since Mochida helped him study. At first, Tsuna didn’t understand why he did. Turned out, Mochida hated academically stupid people, so if he could help it, he’d rather not be around one (his words).

In other words… despite Tsuna’s clumsiness and his flaws, Mochida didn’t actually hate him. Proof: he wanted to be around Tsuna. It was kind of flattering. So, Tsuna was alright. Even if his lunch box was stolen, or he had to give up his lunch money, or had to be humiliated by being forced to walk around the school only with his boxers since his gym clothes and school uniforms were mysteriously missing or wet or torn apart, Tsuna could endure it.

Everybody laughed at him and called him names, no good, useless, etc and at times Tsuna was really embarrassed, but it was live-able. It wasn’t perfect and he’d rather not be humiliated, but he could survive that. Kids were mean and they were foolish like that.

 _Ah, but there’s Kyouko-chan, though—_ Tsuna couldn’t help smiling as the girl’s cute face fleeted through his mind. Kyouko-chan was a bit different. She always smiled at him and never called him names. She was the idol of Namimori Junior High, the prettiest girl at school. She was kind and good mannered and Tsuna had a major crush on her. Well, who didn’t? All the guys at school had at least a little bit of crush on her, even Mochida.

 _Yeah, too bad Mochida-senpai has his sight on her. He’ll beat the shit out of me if he knows I have feelings for her as well—_ Tsuna sighed deeply, wanting to cry a little at that fact. Well, it was kind of moot anyway. There was just no way a popular girl like Sasagawa Kyouko could like a loser like Tsuna. It was just impossible, unattainable wish on Tsuna’s part. So he would just quietly watch over her from his loser’s corner and continue his dream.

So, back on track, Mochida had agreed to help Tsuna do his math homework in exchange of him treating Mochida to an ice cream. It was kind of hot that day, since it was in the middle of summer. When they were walking to an ice cream vendor at the park, Tsuna saw a boy, probably still in elementary school. He sat on a swing cradling a very big text book. The book looked very advanced and the title was in capital Roman letter in foreign language. Tsuna blinked, a bit astonished seeing the boy actually reading the book with such serious expression.

 _Wow… kids these days read such difficult text book, huh? How admirable—_ Tsuna couldn’t help admiring people who was hungry for knowledge. The boy was younger than Tsuna, but he was smart enough to understand a book that was probably wasn’t intended for a boy his age. Moreover, most people twice his age probably couldn’t understand the book. It had something to do with robotic or so, judging from the title anyway.

He was kind of envious. Tsuna wished he could be as smart as the boy. Then probably he wouldn’t be such a failure. Despite his mother's reassurance that he could be whatever he wanted with much effort, sometimes special people were just born with talent so far away from common people. Tsuna was an ordinary boy. _Uh_ , maybe a tad below ordinary if his self-esteem played major part in it. But Tsuna was quite easy going, if he said so himself. He was fine with being average. He didn’t have high ambition for successful life like most people. As long as he could live his life peacefully everyday without basic-need problem, it would be enough.

It would most likely disappoint his parents, especially his father, because Tsuna had no life-goal, but… _well_.

Unlike his mother who was an ordinary house-wife, Tsuna’s father, Iemitsu, worked overseas. Tsuna didn’t know what kind of work his father was doing. He knew that Iemitsu traveled a lot, but the nature of his work was a mystery even to his wife and child. But still, Iemitsu was successful. The number in their bank account spoke volume of it. Tsuna was quite aware that their family was rich, very, _very_ rich. But they didn’t live in pretentious big house like most wealthy people did. Their house was standard, two stories house with three bedrooms (two upstairs and one downstairs), one kitchen slash dining room, one living room, and two bathrooms (one in each floor). They even didn’t own any car or motorcycle. Tsuna had a bicycle, though, courtesy of his father, a birthday present sent from Germany when he turned twelve. But nothing fancy, just a normal mountain bike.

Tsuna was a bit suspicious of the whole obsessively ordinary thing, though. It was as if their family didn’t want anyone else to know that they were loaded. But maybe… it was just because of his mother’s nature. Nana was… well, a very supple woman. She liked to socialize with _everyone_ and maybe creating social gap with the neighbors weren’t cut out to support her character and his father seemed to be the same type as her, hence the traveling around the world thing to do his business, whatever it was.

Despite all that, Tsuna wished for his father to be home more often. He provided greatly for Nana and Tsuna financially, but Tsuna couldn’t help missing Iemitsu a lot. He only heard from him through phone calls and emails these past years. He didn’t even come home for anniversaries, holidays and Tsuna’s birthdays despite the presents he sent every year.

“What are you spacing around for, Sawada?! Hurry up and buy the damn ice cream!”

Mochida’s shout from the distance snapped Tsuna back from his train of thought. “Y-yes!” Tsuna spared a last glance to the elementary school kid before he started running to the fuming Mochida, and then apologized to him for being quite distracted.

After he bought the ice creams, banana flavor for Mochida and strawberry sundae for himself, they proceed to eat the ice cream while walking back to Mochida’s house. At the crossroad, Tsuna noticed the boy again, face still deep in his book, standing and waiting for the traffic light to turn green for the pedestrian.

 _Still reading, huh? What a determined boy—_ Tsuna couldn’t help smiling at the view.

It didn’t last very long, though because a second later, Tsuna was distracted by the sound of car engine coming from the distance. He could see a fancy green sport car, not recognizing the model, most likely upgraded from standard issue, speeding on the street. The light was still green for the car, but the blip of yellow light had started to flicker.

 _That car isn’t going to make it before red light—_ Tsuna thought, but the car didn’t give any sign of slowing down.

The other people around Tsuna scowled at the car. Apparently, they guessed the same thing as Tsuna, that that car would ignore the traffic light and just break it. They were smart to wait until the car passed by, but the boy, seemingly unaware of his surrounding because he was still deep in his reading, didn’t notice all the signs and as soon as the light turned green for the pedestrian to cross the street, he walked into the road.

Simultaneously, people shouted and screamed at him to look out, but apparently, the boy was so focused on his material he even didn’t hear them.

Tsuna widened his eyes as he saw all of that. He didn’t know what he was doing or why he was doing it at all, but his body just moved on its own accord, ignoring the red-light siren screeching inside his own head ( _or was it the car siren?_ ), the scream and the distressed yell. He dropped his ice cream and everything seemed to move like in slow motion as he jumped in the traffic and pushed the boy out of the way before the green car could collide with the boy’s body.

And then…

_And then…._

“Was I… in a car accident?” Tsuna couldn’t remember the rest as there was only the painful clash and then it was blank.

“Unfortunately,” the nurse spoke, her tone apologetic.

“The boy… is he okay?” Tsuna remembered the brunet boy. He just shoved the boy out of the way, he might have fallen and gotten injured as well.

“The boy… ah, you men Irie-kun?” the nurse asked.

“His name is Irie-kun?” Tsuna smiled slightly, finally knowing the boy’s name.

“Yes, Irie Shouichi, he’s alright. He suffered mild concussion from his head bumping the asphalt and a few lacerations on his arms and knees when he fell, but he’s well and safe at home now,” she dutifully answered.

“Wait, at home? How long was I out exactly?” Tsuna was a bit wary. If the mildly concussed boy had come home from the hospital, he probably was out more than a day.

“You’d been in coma for two weeks before you regained consciousness this morning, Sawada-san,” she said and Tsuna was startled at how long he had been unconscious.

“Two weeks?!” he couldn’t help dropping his jaw a little.

“Unfortunately, but you’re awake now and there’s nothing wrong with your vitals at the last check up,” the nurse’s voice was placating and Tsuna was grateful that she made effort to calm him down.

“Wow… I’d been out for two weeks… doesn’t feel that long in my sleep, though,” Tsuna let out a shaky sigh, still a bit astonished that he almost died two weeks ago.

“Well, we hope you’re going to be up and about soon though. Do you feel any nausea or any pain right now?” the nurse asked.

“Oh, no… a bit drowsy and numb, but otherwise, I’m okay,” Tsuna answered. He must have been on good drugs then.

“Alright, so we can start to lower the dose of sedation in your system. I have to warn you that you suffered multiple bones fractures on your left arm, your left shoulder, and your left leg from a direct hit in the accident, so you might feel pain for some time after the anesthetic was removed. You hit your head pretty hard too on the ground and your eyes… the corneas were injured when you rolled on the road after the accident, but we already transplanted the damaged corneas with corneas from the bank transplant. Hopefully in two or three days, we can remove the bandage around your eyes to see if the transplant works.”

“Okay…” Tsuna nodded, a bit dazed at the numbers of technical jargon that he didn’t understand. He just knew that in two or three days, he could finally see again. And he would be in pain for certain period of time after the… the anesthetic was gone, whatever it was.

“It will be alright, Tsu-kun. You’ll be okay,” Nana spoke slowly from beside his bed. Her tone was slightly unsteady despite the soothing attribute. Tsuna followed her voice to turn to face his right side and tried to smile at her. His mother was probably very worried these past two weeks.

“I’m sorry for worrying you, Mom,” he whispered softly.

“Oh, Tsu-kun…” Nana grasped his right hand which wasn’t in a cast and held it tenderly. “You’re alive… I’m just so glad you’re alive… Please don’t do such heroic thing again without considering your own safety,” she brought Tsuna’s hand up and kissed the back of his palm. “You scared me very much, Tsu-kun…”

Tsuna chuckled lightly. “It was hardly heroic, Mom. I didn’t even know what I was doing until it was done. I guess… it was instinct.”

“Usually, in such condition people would just freeze in their instinct of self preservation. The fact that you jumped to save the boy without even realizing it _is_ kind of heroic, Sawada-san,” the nursed contributed.

Tsuna felt his cheeks heat at the compliment. “Thanks, nurse-san,” he was kind of embarrassed.

“Nurse? Oh,” she giggled. “No, Sawada-san, I’m your doctor.”

“Eh? I-I’m sorry, _sensei_ ,” Tsuna felt more embarrassed for getting the wrong idea. She sounded so young! Well, it was hard to tell how old a person was only from their voice.

“No, no, I was at wrong for not introducing myself to you first. I already introduced myself to your mother that’s why… I’m Doctor Kataoka Irine. I’ll be helping you for the duration of your stay here, Sawada-san,” she introduced herself then, and she sounded very nice and kind.

“I’m Sawada Tsunayoshi as you already know it, thank you for having me in your care,” Tsuna nodded slightly in the general direction of the voice he had heard. He hoped he got that right.

“Alright then, Sawada-san, I think this will be all I can inform you of your current condition. Rest well, and don’t hesitate to call the nurse if you need any help.” Doctor Kataoka exchanged brief pleasantries with his mother before she left the room.

It was comfortably silent in the room for a couple of minutes before Tsuna spoke again. “Mom, _Senpai_ … Mochida-senpai was with me when the accident happened. Is he alright?” He kind of forgot about Mochida at first, and he just remembered that his senior must have witnessed the horror. He felt bad.Tsuna would visit him to apologize after he was discharged from the hospital.

“He called the ambulance, Tsu-kun, but he couldn’t come with you because he isn’t a family member,” Nana said calmly, still holding her son’s hand and caressing his fingers gently.

“Oh… _senpai_ must have been upset,” Tsuna sighed. “Have to… inform him that I’m alright, then… later…” Now he felt sleepy again. He didn’t know why he still wanted to sleep despite already being asleep for two weeks continuously.

“It’s alright, Tsu-kun. Mama will protect you,” Nana whispered near his ear and he could feel her feather light kiss on his forehead before slowly, so slowly… his conscious departed once again to a dreamless slumber.

* * *

**~All x 27~**

* * *

Irie Shouichi (11) was staring at the hospital as he was escorted by his mother and older sister into the white building. He was kind of worried and slightly anxious because today he would meet the person that had saved his life.

That person… Irie didn’t know him, and yet, that guy had jumped in front of a car to save his life, because Irie was so reckless, so ignorant and stupid for not looking where he was going (though people kept telling him that it wasn’t his fault, that the car was speeding and violating traffic light). He could remember the shock when he was shoved out of the way and then the siren was registered in his hearing and the next thing he knew, there was the screeching sound of tires and then…

Irie shut his eyes in terror as he remembered the loud crash and then the brown haired boy’s body was thrown for a couple of meters before it slammed to the ground and the blood…

There was so much blood…

People screamed in panicky…

And Irie could only stare wide eyed at the unconscious boy lying there, bleeding from his head, his mouth, his nose, his _eyes_ , the left arm was bent on the wrong angle and his left foot…his left foot was broken, some of the bones were even visible from the open wound on his leg.

Irie didn’t even register his own bleeding head until some people tried to move him away. He still couldn’t remove his sight of the bleeding older boy that took the hit for him. He was… later the paramedic said he was in shock for seeing the horrible scene and from bumping his head. After that everything was a blur.

Irie had to stay in the hospital overnight because he had a mild concussion, the doctor said. He still couldn’t forget that older boy, though… despite the medication and mild sedation. Every couple of hours, when he was about to fall into deep sleep, his mother woke him up, told him to stay awake so he wouldn’t fall into a coma. His sister said head injury could cause that. He wondered if he would still see that older boy’s bleeding form after he closed his eyes.

His mother asked the doctor about that person, the boy that saved his life, but the doctor only said they would do their best to save him and later on, his mother told him that he was alive, but unresponsive. He had to be kept in ICU for sometimes and other than close family, he wasn’t allowed to have visitor to decrease the risk of wound infection.

And then… after two agonizing weeks of waiting for that person to regain consciousness… he finally woke up. Irie had begged the doctor to inform his family if that older boy woke up. He wanted to… wanted to say thanks to him for saving his life. Now, four days later, Irie was finally allowed to visit him.

Irie knew he probably couldn’t make it up to him, but at least he could… he could say that he was grateful and that he was alive because of him. And maybe… maybe he could help that person if he needed anything. Irie knew he was still a child, and couldn’t do much as a kid, but if… if he could, he would do it for that person. He would help him.

“Sawada… Tsunayoshi-san…” He whispered that person’s name softly as he and his family got the direction where that person’s room was. He knew his name from the doctor that took care of him. He also knew that Tsunayoshi knew he would come today to visit him, courtesy of the doctor telling him.

“Is he alright?” Irie couldn’t help asking the nurse that guided them to Tsunayoshi’s room.

“Um… he will be, I guess,” the answer was vague and it didn’t lessen Irie’s worry at all.

Before Irie could lose all his courage, he took a deep breath and faced the door in front of him, gulped once and then reached his hand to knock on the door.

* * *

**~All x 27~**

* * *

_A day before…_

“Are you ready, Tsu-kun? The nurse will undo the bandage on your eyes now,” Nana said, a bit giddy and slightly restless. She hoped very much that Tsuna’s eyes would be okay. Her son was so tough. He had always been tough. She knew that he was bullied at school by some people, but whenever she asked, he never told her about the bullies. He said it was normal in school anyway.

Nana hated that she couldn’t help him. She tried to speak with the school, but as long as there was no complaint from the students, the school couldn’t do anything. They said they would try to keep an eye on Tsuna, but there was only so much they could do to monitor the student’s activities. They couldn’t only focus on one person after all.

But Tsuna… despite the bruises, the mud stained uniform, the tattered gym clothes and shoes, the torn up books and bags… he kept smiling when he was at home. He smiled and said that he had wonderful days at school; that he got to see his idol Kyouko-chan and had made progress with math under Mochida-senpai tutelage.

Tsuna was always like that. He was never down, not really. Once he did feel down it was only because one of his classmates was about to move to another school. He said he wished he could have interacted with him more instead of only looking from afar. It wasn’t like he knew him personally, but he regretted that he didn’t talk to him more often.

Nana was proud of her son. Even though he might not be the brightest one out there, but Tsuna was kind. He had a soft heart. A little bit introverted, but he didn’t hesitate to help people that needed his help.

She didn’t really care if he was neither ambitious nor had a life-goal. She could care less if he was ordinary; for her, Tsuna was special and he was perfect. She just hoped that that genuine happy smile never dimmed, that he would always be content in his life. Besides, even if Tsuna would turn out to be a mama’s boy, it would still be totally okay because their family fortune could afford such life-style. Fortunately though, Tsuna wasn’t exactly high-maintenance, so even though he didn’t work, he could still be quite settled for the rest of his life.

“Yep, as ready as I can be…” Tsuna exhaled loudly, chuckling a bit, his tone slightly quivering. It seemed that he was rather nervous.

“All right, Sawada-san, I’m going to remove the bandage now. You can start by closing your eyes until the bandage is fully undone, and then you can open your eyes slowly. Slowly, okay? Let your eyes familiarize with the light.” Kataoka-sensei instructed and Tsuna nodded quietly.

“Your sight might be blurred for a short time before you can really see, so don’t panic if you cannot make out people’s face at first,” Kataoka continued as the nurse beside Tsuna undid the bandage. Tsuna nodded again, showing that he understood.

After the bandage was removed completely, Nana gasped slightly seeing the scar on Tsuna’s left eye. It wasn't exactly above the eye or on his eyelid, it was on the side, like an extension of his eye-line, causing his left eye to appear larger if it was open. Tsuna seemed unfazed with the voice she made and he slowly opened his eyes.

“How is it, Sawada-san?” Kataoka asked, sounding positive.

Tsuna was quiet for some time and kept opening his eyes slowly until both of his amber colored eyes were fully visible once again. The cornea transplant looked smooth on his eyes, but Tsuna still didn’t say a thing, worrying Nana quite a bit.

“Tsu-kun… what do you see?”

Tsuna blinked once, twice and gradually closed his eyes once again. “I-…” his voice shook slightly and his fists clenched at the blanket. “I can’t see anything.”

“Eh?” Nana’s heart sank as she heard that.

“Mom… I can’t see anything.”

* * *

**~All x 27~**

* * *

Doctor Kataoka consulted Tsuna to neurology ward after a careful examination with light sensitivity test. For some reason, his pupil didn’t react to the light, she said. He was introduced to a neurological specialist, Doctor Okazaki Raiko. Tsuna was immediately scheduled to have MRI and CT-Scan, focusing on the part of his brain that controlled his sight.

There was a previous check up to examine what went wrong with the cornea transplant, but everything seemed fine in that aspect, so they suspected that it was a neurological problem, hence the head MRI and CT-Scan.

“Sawada-san indeed sustained a head injury that caused a massive bleeding, but we didn’t suspect anything wrong with his central nervous system because the wound was superficial. But apparently, some of his brain tissues were damaged during the impact with the road. There was no internal bleeding in his head, luckily, but the trauma in his occipital lobe of his brain caused a lesion on his area 17 Brodmann…” Doctor Okazaki explained the reading he got from the MRI and CT-Scan. Tsuna suspected that he was using pictures so his mother could understand what he was saying with so many technical jargon that both Tsuna and Nana weren’t familiar with.

“You see, this area of occipital lobe of the brain controls primary sight, I’m afraid a lesion that damages this area can cause permanent blindness.”

“ _Permanent?_ ” Tsuna paled slightly.

“Doctor, isn’t there any treatment to fix the damage?” Nana sounded very desperate as she asked, almost like begging.

Doctor Okazaki made a hesitant noise from the back of his throat. “There is… a small chance of recovery if the lesion is removed with brain surgery, but… the chance of complete recovery is below 30%. There are also risks of damaging the other brain areas during the operation. I’m afraid the odd is not in Sawada-san’s favor. Besides, brain cells are different from skin cells or the cells in other tissues which can recover from partial injury. Brain cells can’t re-grow after injury or removal, so… I’m very sorry. There’s nothing medical treatment can do that will fully restore his sight…” He sounded very regretful as he informed this and Tsuna felt that… his world was tipped off the balance.

_Blind… I’m… blind…_

“Oh, no… Tsu-kun…”

Tsuna could hear his mother cry. But he was still digesting the information that he would never see the light again. He was blind… permanently. He couldn’t go to school anymore. He couldn’t read. He couldn’t watch television. He couldn’t…

_I can’t see faces of other people anymore…_

Tsuna felt like crying. The loss was so great it felt surreal. But then he could still hear the sobs of his mother, and Doctor Okazaki… the doctor was quiet, probably only offering his silence as support because there was nothing he said that would make everything feel better for both Tsuna and Nana.

 _Blind… what am I going to do after this?_ —Tsuna slowly closed his eyelids. He could feel the movement of the muscles. He tried to concentrate on the things around him. For the past three days during his rest before the bandage around his eyes was removed, his other senses were slightly heightened. He could feel, smell and hear better. He always faced his mother when she spoke to him. And for some reason, he would know if someone that entered his hospital room wasn’t his mother. If he concentrated enough, he even could hear people chatting outside his room more clearly.

_“…Survive…”_

Tsuna blinked when he heard a heavy, male voice. He tilted his head aside, not knowing where the voice came from. It wasn’t doctor Okazaki’s and it sure as hell wasn’t his mom's. But he didn’t hear anyone entering the room either.

 _Maybe there's someone outside the door that's speaking with someone else. But… how come I can only hear one word?_ —Tsuna concentrated more but he couldn’t hear that voice anymore. _Weird… but he’s right. I have to survive… I have to survive even without my sight._

Determined to stomach this disability head on, Tsuna reached his right hand forward, toward the direction from where he could hear his mother sobbing. “Mom,” he called slowly trying to locate her hand, but ended up bumping with her arm. His mother seemed startled and Tsuna moved his hand slowly up until he could feel his mother’s hand which was wet, probably from her tears. She must have been covering her face with her hands a moment ago.

“Tsu-kun…?” Her voice was still weak and she was hiccuping, and Tsuna felt terrible that he had made his mother cry like this.

“It’s… not alright, but it will be,” Tsuna didn’t want to lie, so it was the best he could come up with to stop his mother’s tears. “It’s going to be hard, living in darkness from now on, but at least I won’t be alone. I have you, Mom. I’ll probably inconvenience you a lot… and I might frustrate you to no end with this disability, but Mom… I promise I’m going to try my hardest to live the rest of my life as best as I can. Mom, will you be my light to guide me?”

…

…

Tsuna was starting to get a bit worried when Nana didn’t say anything for a few seconds before he was so suddenly enveloped in a desperate bear hug (though still minding his injured left shoulder) as Nana cried harder. “Oh, Tsu-kun, you silly, silly boy…! Of course I’ll always be there for you, Tsu-kun. I’m going to be by your side whenever you need me…!”

Tsuna let out a deep, relieved sigh as he put his healthy arm around Nana as well. “Tsu-kun… you _are_ my light. Always have been… and always will be…” She sobbed hard on his small shoulder and he couldn’t help smiling despite the tears that started to collect in his eyes… and then they dropped one by one, wetting his cheeks as he tightened his hug on his mother.

“Yeah?”

“Of course, Tsu-kun… always…”

That day Tsuna promised to his mom and himself that he would do this. He could do this. He didn’t lose anything that was important enough for him to survive and _live_ in this world. He still had his family, his _light_ , and they would be his guide to fulfill his life-goal from now on: _to live full, happy days for the rest of his life._

* * *

**~All x 27~**

* * *

_Now…_

Tsuna perked slightly when he heard the knocks on his door before the light swish of the sliding door being opened, followed by a timid “Excuse me.” He didn’t recognize the voice, but it sounded high, unsure, and he detected a hint of anxiousness in the tone.

“Come in,” Tsuna replied with a smile. His eyes were open despite not seeing, since he didn’t want to scare whoever it was that decided to visit him.

“Um… I-, I-… I’m Irie Shouichi,” the timid voice spoke again, still not moving from the door step. Tsuna knew because he didn’t hear any footsteps and the distance of the voice didn’t change.

“Irie?” Tsuna immediately recognized the name. “Ah, so you are Irie Shouichi-kun… Is it alright if I call you Irie-kun? You can come closer you know. Promise I won’t bite,” he chuckled at his own joke and he imagined the boy to blush in reaction. He wished he could really see that. It would be endearing in the boy’s face if his memory of the boy’s feature was anything to go with.

“Um… sorry for the intrusion then…” the boy spoke slowly and finally Tsuna could hear his tiny footsteps moving closer to the bed Tsuna was occupying. He heard the boy stop just beside the bed, but he didn’t make any move to sit on the chair Tsuna knew was there, since his mom sat on it all the time before he convinced her to go home to get some rest.

Nana was very reluctant to part from her boy, but Tsuna ensured her that he would be alright. There were doctors and nurses who would help him there, _plus_ the hospital also promised to take good care of him. So about an hour ago, she finally relented after he mentioned that it would be bad for him especially if she fell ill too from exhaustion. Besides, she could always come back later in the afternoon after she wasn’t dead on her feet anymore. Tsuna knew because she spaced out a lot when he spoke to her, and the nurses said she wasn’t sleeping well in the two weeks of his coma, and the days after he woke up because she was worried if he would fall into that state again.

“You can sit down, Irie-kun. It can’t be comfortable talking while standing like that,” Tsuna gestured in the general direction of the chair despite not really knowing where its exact spot. It couldn’t be too far off because he could feel the boy move to do just that. “How are you?” he asked after a few moments of silence and he didn’t detect any intention from the boy to start talking.

“Eh?” Irie sounded confused with the question.

“The doctor said you suffered mild concussion from the… accident,” Tsuna could hear a hitch from the boy and he immediately regretted reminding him of that. “I’m sorry. You don’t have to say anything if remembering that bothers you.”

“No… why are you apologizing?” the boy’s voice was trembling. There were tiny sobs and he could hear frantic movement from the boy which he suspected as his gesture to wipe his tears if the sobs were the sound of him crying.

Tsuna smiled ruefully at his question though. “For making you cry?”

There was another hitch and then a whimper and then the boy was heartrendingly apologizing to him. “I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” He sounded so remorseful and repentant and Tsuna couldn’t help feeling his heart clench at the thought that the younger boy was blaming himself for something that wasn’t his fault.

Irie was still sniveling for a few moments before Tsuna reached for him, trying to locate his head. Luckily, he found it on the first try since Irie’s position was right beside his bed, and the boy was bowing and probably hiding his face in his palms too.

Tsuna touched the soft hair, _brown hair_ ; he remembered, and caressed it gently. “Hey now… no crying in this room, I’m very sorry for scaring you like that. It must have been awful remembering that,” he tried to calm the crying boy, but it took some minutes to quiet the boy down.

“Sawada-san…” the boy’s voice was still quite rough from his crying, but at least his tears had stopped. “I-… I want to thank you, for saving my life,” he spoke softly.

Tsuna smiled warmly at the boy. “I’m glad that I could help.”

“A-and… and I’m sorry for getting you hurt,” Irie continued.

“It wasn’t your fault. That car was speeding. It was that driver’s car fault.” Tsuna released Irie’s head and rested his hand on his side. “How are you?” He repeated his question earlier then, still wanting to know how he was doing.

“I’m… fine,” there was a slight pause in Irie’s words. Tsuna suspected he wasn’t entirely honest with his answer.

“Really?” He made an effort to make his tone a bit doubtful.

There was silence after that. Maybe Irie was nodding to convince him, but Tsuna couldn’t see that so he once again reached out and gestured at him to come closer. “Let me _see_ your face.” That phrase was a bit inaccurate for his condition right now, but he _really_ wanted to know how he could further use his tactile sense to _see_ someone.

“Eh?” Irie was seemingly surprised at his gesture, but he moved closer and let Tsuna touch his face a bit.

“Can you sit on the bed? I can’t really see you this way. I need to feel you with my hand,” Tsuna patted the spot beside him on the bed after he released the boy’s cheek.

“Why do you need your hand to _see_ my face?” Irie’s tone was puzzled.

Tsuna remained silent and continued patting the sheet beside him. Irie didn’t seem to need the answer much to comply with his request. Shortly, the boy was seated there, right in front of Tsuna and he reached his right hand once again to the boy’s cheek and started to move upward a bit, touching something hard… _Glasses_ ; yeah, Tsuna remembered the thick glasses. “Can I take your glasses off?” He asked.

“Uh… why?” Irie’s brow furrowed. Tsuna could feel that with his palm that was now in contact with the boy’s head and forehead.

“So I can feel you better,” Tsuna smiled, his hand already playing with the rim of Irie’s glasses.

Tsuna could feel Irie tilt his head slightly aside before the boy suddenly gasped. “Sawada-san… your eyes…!” Apparently, Irie noticed that Tsuna’s eyeballs weren’t moving to follow his movement and it seemed that Irie conjured Tsuna’s condition correctly.

Tsuna was slowly closing his eyes, not wanting to distress the boy even more now that he knew. But, he could feel the boy tremble in his hand and then the warm liquid dripped on Tsuna’s fingers on Irie’s cheek. The boy started to sob again.

“Now, what did I tell you about crying?” Tsuna tried to lighten the mood even though it was to no avail.

“But… but…! Your eyes…! I’m sorry… so sorry…!” Irie hiccuped again as he shut his eyes, more tears pouring down on Tsuna’s fingers.

Tsuna sighed slightly. “And what did I tell you about blaming yourself?”

“But-”

“No more buts,” Tsuna cut Irie’s protest. “It wasn’t your fault. Irie-kun, you are not to blame.”

“Still, if only I hadn’t been reading…! Then I’d have seen that car and you wouldn’t have to jump in front of it to save me…!” Irie didn’t seem about to stop crying anytime soon. He was still sobbing and hiccuping as Tsuna continued his exploration of Irie’s face with his palm. Irie’s eyebrows were furrowed deeply, his eyes wet despite Tsuna trying to dry his tears. His nose was small; it was in right proportion and kind of runny at this moment, since he was still crying. But his lips… they were thin and soft.

“Many things caused that accident. Crying over spilled milk wouldn’t have changed anything,” Tsuna sighed, patting one of Irie’s cheeks lightly. “In any other circumstances, if it weren’t you but some other people, it most likely would still happen that way.” It was the truth. Irie was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. If some other people had been in Irie’s place, Tsuna would still have jumped to save them.

_It’s inevitable…_

“Sawada-san-”

“You can call me Tsuna if you want to,” Tsuna interrupted, but the boy didn’t seem to notice as he continued.

“…-why are you being so _nice_ to me? What am I supposed to do to make it up to you if you’re not even angry? What… what should I do so you can feel better…?” Irie was still crying as he told him this. Tsuna was honestly a bit stunned.

Tsuna chuckled slightly a moment later and Irie hitched his breath in surprise. “You are just so…” He shook his head, rather amused.

“Why are you laughing…?” Irie sounded bewildered after that.

“You’re just a little boy, but you already have such admirable sense of responsibility. It’s worth it… saving your life in exchange of my sight.” Now, Tsuna caressed the boy cheek fondly. “Irie-kun… if you’re really that adamant about making it up to me, you just have to promise me one thing.”

“ _Anything_ ,” the boy nodded his head slightly, starting to calm his sobs down.

“Alright… promise me that you will live strongly. Don’t waste your life… and please be happy.” Tsuna brought the boy’s face closer to his and rested his forehead on Irie’s. “Live a full life… for my sake too…”

“Sawada-san…!” For some reason, the boy started to whimper again.

“Tsuna, call me Tsuna,” he requested.

“Ts-Tsuna-san…!” Irie nodded again. “Can I hug you?”

“Okay,” Tsuna smiled and released the boy slowly as Irie immediately looped his arms around Tsuna’s neck and hugged him tightly.

“Tsuna-san… I want to be your eyes…! I want to help you…!”

“Be my eyes?” Tsuna put his right arm around the boy’s side, holding him close as well.

“I know I’m just a kid, but I’m going to find away to do that, so please… Please let me stay by your side…!” Tsuna could feel Irie tighten his hug and didn’t seem to want to let go anytime soon.

Tsuna closed his eyes, feeling the warmth from Irie’s embrace and he couldn’t help feeling very blessed that he had made such an adorable, kind-hearted friend in him. “I’d like that too, Irie-kun,” he whispered poignantly, also tightening his hold on Irie’s smaller body. “I’d very much like that…”

* * *

**~All x 27~**

* * *

“Irie-kun, how old are you?”

Tsuna’s voice surprised him slightly as Irie was peeling an apple and tried to slice it into rabbit shape. “Eh? Me?” He put the knife down and started to fidget. “Um… I’m 11 year old, but next spring I’ll be 12 and I’ll enter junior high.” For some unfathomable reason, he felt a bit embarrassed about it.

“I see,” Tsuna smiled. Irie blushed slightly seeing his warm expression. He hadn’t thought about it before, but Tsuna was very… soft and gentle. He was so kind and selfless. Somehow, Tsuna also looked very cute and slender for a guy. “I’m going to be 15 this October. Where will you enroll, Irie-kun?”

Irie paused slightly and then he stared at Tsuna thoughtfully. “Where do you go to school, Tsuna-san?”

Tsuna tilted his head aside slightly, probably wondering why Irie asked something like that without answering his question first. “I went to Namimori Junior High School,” he replied anyway.

“Then I’ll go there as well,” Irie smiled, determined with that decision. The school standard wasn’t as high as his parent’s expectation, but if he could be in the same school as Tsuna, together with his savior, his mom and sister wouldn’t complain. Besides, this way he could be together with Tsuna longer. He could even help Tsuna in his school.

Tsuna was quiet for some time before he sighed deeply. “If you decide to go there because of me, I wish you’d reconsider it,” he said suddenly, startling Irie.

“Eh, w-why? I want to go there to help you, Tsuna-san!” he protested, a little bit hurt at the rejection.

“It will be pointless, Irie-kun. I believe you can do better with your intelligence. Besides, I’m not going to be there anymore,” Tsuna sent him an apologetic look.

“Why?” Irie didn’t understand. Did Tsuna decide to move to another school?

“With my condition now, going to regular school will be impossible. I will probably be home-schooled after I learn some basics to read Braille,” Tsuna explained, not really facing Irie anymore then.

“Oh,” Irie’s heart sank at the realization. It was true. Tsuna’s eyes condition would hinder his school life too much. How would he read the book and the lesson on the black board if he was blind? “You’re right… sorry…” He once again felt dejected. He had caused such problem for Tsuna. He didn’t know how he could ever make it up to this wonderful person.

“Irie-kun, you’ve apologized enough. Stop being so gloomy about it, you can always come to my house if you want to see me, you know.” Tsuna smiled again at him and Irie felt like almost crying again.

 _How could he be so accepting about this? His life is turned upside down because of me. Why isn’t he angry with me? Why isn’t he depressed about how he’s going to live starting now?_ —Even Irie felt angry and he resented himself for causing this person such predicament.

“Irie-kun…” Tsuna’s hand on his head snapped Irie from his disheartening inner monologue. He didn’t realize that he had shut his eyes again and Tsuna’s expression when he faced him was very understanding. “I didn’t lose anything that important enough to live in this world. I've still got mom and now… I've got you, right?”

Irie couldn’t help the tears gathering in his eyes again and if he hadn’t promised Tsuna that he wouldn’t cry again, he would have done that. But, since he did, he furiously blinked back his tears and held Tsuna’s hand firmly. “Yes, Tsuna-san,” he agreed wholeheartedly. “You've got me... and I've got you.”

“There you go.” Tsuna’s smile after that was so painfully brilliant that Irie thought he was almost blinded by how bright it was.

 _He’s the light… even though he’s going to live in literal darkness from now on, he can be the bright light that illuminate other people’s lives… my life…!—_ Irie returned Tsuna’s smile and promised himself that he would really do anything if it was for Tsuna, _anything_ at all; be it becoming his eyes or hands or legs, or any combination of those and more.

“Tsuna-san… I like you,” Irie confessed suddenly and Tsuna looked surprised at that. “I want to have a big brother like Tsuna-san,” he continued, his heart feeling warm and content and he wasn’t sure if this _like_ was the same with his _like_ to his sister, but there was only one thing he knew: he wanted to always be close to Tsuna.

Tsuna seemed to be tentative for a moment before he chuckled. “I’d like a younger brother like Irie too,” he replied with visible amusement and happiness in his face and tone, and Irie couldn’t help grinning at the acceptance.

“Alright, from now on, Tsuna-san is my big bro!” He couldn’t help announcing it excitedly and Tsuna laughed at that; such carefree laughter that lit the whole room into joyfulness.

_Yes, this person… Tsuna-san will become my light, always…_

**End of Chapter 1**

**Tbc…**

* * *

**A/N:** Well, I decide to re-write this piece because it can be better than the previous one. Unfortunately, it will take time to write this down, because despite the plot being similar, there’s a major change in how I tell the story. This will probably become a major big series too. I hope I can finish it alright. Comment? Don’t hesitate to point out if something doesn’t make any sense, since I wanted to make this fic as sensible as I can.


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